Conclusion :D (Also more stuff about Deere)

drafting/outline.typ

@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ Right to repair should be important to you because it allows you to maintain con
 Apart from preserving liberty, increasing product maintainability has positive implications for environmental concerns. Global e-waste has reached critical levels: in 2024, the International Telecommunication Union reported that the world produced 62 million tons of discarded electronics, yet only 22.3% were properly collected and recycled @itu. This E-waste carries a much larger environmental footprint than traditional waste due to the complex manufacturing processes and vast amounts of resources needed to produce them. Discarding these devices prematurely requires new resources to be extracted, refined, and manufactured into a new product. Furthermore, electronic devices also contain heavy metals and chemicals which pose major pollution and health risks when improperly disposed of @itu. As shown in analytical models from the 2022 article "Right to Repair: Pricing, Welfare, and Environmental Implications," prolonging the use of a product can reduce waste generation and material exploitation, making right-to-repair crucial for sustainable consumption @jin2023Right_.
 
 == Cost saving
-In addition to saving the planet, regulating anti-repair practices through RTR laws would directly save you money. As discussed previously, manufacturers make repairs needlessly difficult, leaving you with no option other than to discard devices. Instead of being forced to buy costly replacements, if repairable products were more commonplace, you would have the option to use an independent repair service, which are often cheaper (and quicker) than the official options. The average consumer spends spend about \$1,767, although in an Investopedia article covering apple's support of right to repair it is reported that you could save roughly \$382 if you were empowered by right to repair @apple-supports. RTR laws, such as the European Union's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), aim to remove the arbitrary barriers to repair by requiring companies to provide access to repair manuals and affordable ways to obtain spare parts @34ca32eb-5148-4b33-b82a-d7cfca46c672. For instance, Kass writes about how she only paid a fifth of the cost of a new phone for a battery replacement, and it  reportedly "was like getting a new phone without getting a new phone" @bar-right-repair-and-environment. Standardizing RTR would make affordable repairs widely accessible, helping you spend less while extending the life of the products you already own.
+In addition to saving the planet, regulating anti-repair practices through RTR laws would directly save you money. As discussed previously, manufacturers make repairs needlessly difficult, leaving you with no option other than to discard devices. Instead of being forced to buy costly replacements, if repairable products were more commonplace, you would have the option to use an independent repair service, which are often cheaper (and quicker) than the official options. The average consumer spends spend about \$1,767, although in an Investopedia article covering apple's support of new legislation it is reported that you could save roughly \$382 if you were empowered by right to repair @apple-supports. RTR laws, such as the European Union's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), aim to remove the arbitrary barriers to repair by requiring companies to provide access to repair manuals and affordable ways to obtain spare parts @34ca32eb-5148-4b33-b82a-d7cfca46c672. For instance, Kass writes about how she only paid a fifth of the cost of a new phone for a battery replacement, and it  reportedly "was like getting a new phone without getting a new phone" @bar-right-repair-and-environment. Standardizing RTR would make affordable repairs widely accessible, helping you spend less while extending the life of the products you already own.
 == Ethical Issues
 This section will focus on the ethical issues surrounding IP infringement, and how replicability may parasitize manufacturer profits. @11021197
 
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ One of the claims brought up in Reinauer's article is that RTR mandates might re
 
 Another argument presented is that RTR legislation undermines intellectual property (IP) protections: "Right to repair legislation forces manufacturers to reveal trade secrets ..." and may infringe on copyright @two-wrongs-dont-make-a-right. The claim is that, as mentioned previously, if manufacturers are compelled to give over access to information and tools they deem as proprietary, then the manufacturers own right of ownership over those tools is put in jeopardy. Reinauer frames parts of the law as imposing "Compulsory Contracts" on manufacturers, and initiating a double standard where the consumer has more property rights than the manufacturer.
 
-These IP concerns do have some legal standing. The Cato Institute, for example, highlights the fact that right-to-repair can force companies to disclose source code, which undermines copyright protection, potentially enabling competitors to duplicate designs @criticism-right-repair-laws. Additionally, trade secret laws do not always block reverse engineering 
+These IP concerns do have some legal standing. The Cato Institute, for example, highlights the fact that right-to-repair can force companies to disclose source code, which undermines copyright protection, potentially enabling competitors to duplicate designs @criticism-right-repair-laws. Additionally, trade secret laws do not always block reverse engineering, and in many jurisdictions, reverse engineering is lawful so long as it is done in certain ways @springer_public_domain_2021. If corporations are not protected from someone reverse engineering their device, then there is a heavy incentivize to make those products as obfuscated and difficult to access as they can.
 
 == Consumer Data Privacy Concerns
 The most major criticism of enforcing broad right-to-repair laws is that it could compromise consumer data privacy and system security. As the original article warns, "industry representatives have raised concerns over data security and cybersecurity regarding the mandates" because they would require "the original equipment manufacturer [to] make available ... any special documentation, tools ... to access and reset [the] lock." @two-wrongs-dont-make-a-right. In a 2021 FTC report that Microsoft noted that “independent repair shops that conduct repairs could compromise the embedded hardware security” @ftc_nixing_fix_2021. The inherent security risk of independent repair is once again mirrored an article by Ike Brannon, an author of multiple anti-RTR articles, who cautions that such access could be misused by bad actors, giving them full access to any of their customers' personal information @criticism-right-repair-laws. 
@@ -296,12 +296,15 @@ And These concerns aren't purely speculative, in a study conducted in 2022, the
 
 #image("computer-repair-privacy-violations.jpg")
 
-The resolution to this lies in the computer literacy of the customer. In the study, three repair providers claimed to require credentials to preform a battery replacement @ceci2022privacyelectronicsrepairindustry. This may be a red flag to anyone with a technical background, however, most people wouldn't question it at all, just like you wouldn't question letting your exterminator into your house. If consumers were made away that for nearly every repair--apart from data recovery--unlocking of the device was unnecessary, then they may avoid placed which ask for a password. If a repair service gains a reputation for asking for too much access, then they may loose customers or go out of business entirely.
+The resolution to this lies in the computer literacy of the customer. In the study, three repair providers claimed to require credentials to preform a battery replacement @ceci2022privacyelectronicsrepairindustry. This may be a red flag to anyone with a technical background, however, most people wouldn't question it at all, just like you wouldn't question letting your exterminator into your house. If consumers were made away that for nearly every repair--apart from data recovery--unlocking of the device was unnecessary, then they may avoid placed which ask for a password. If a repair service gains a reputation for asking for too much access, or creeping around in devices, then they may loose customers or go out of business entirely. Freedom of repair shouldn't be prohibited for everyone simply because of a few wrongdoers.
-
 
 = Current Status of Right to repair
-Legal pressure facing John Deere captures how far manufacturer are willing to go to retain control over repair. Multiple lawsuits allege that the company
+In recent years, right to repair has been gaining a lot of momentum. In 2023, Colorado became the first state to pass RTR laws, with Bedayn from AP News reporting that "Lawmakers in at least 10 other states have introduced similar legislation." @Bedayn2023_ColoradoRightToRepair.
-== Ongoing Lawsuits
+
-The article "FTC sues Deere & Co. for monopolizing farm-equipment repair market" is a media source written by John O'Connor for the Associated Press. It details a class action lawsuit filed by the FTC in cooperation with the attorney general of Illinois and Minnesota, accusing them of monopolizing the repair market of their farm equipment. The FTC alleges that the practice increases repair costs, and causes significant delays for the farmers who rely on the equipment. They also claim that Deere refuses to share the software diagnostics needed to repair their farming equipment, making it impossible for an individual to repair their equipment. O'Connor then presents a quote from Lina M. Khan, an FTC chairperson, stating "[farmers should be] free to repair their own equipment or use repair shops of their choice -- lowering costs, preventing ruinous delays, and promoting fair competition." Deere denies all of the allegations, and claims to support customer repair.
+== An Ongoing Lawsuit
-@john-deere-accused @john-deere-sued 
+
-== Other Activism and Demonstrations
+In addition to legislation being passed, is facing John Deere significant legal pressure. Another AP News article by O'connor details an ongoing FTC lawsuit against the farm equipment company captures, and highlights how far manufacturer are willing to go to retain control over repair. The class action lawsuit filed by the FTC in cooperation with the attorney general of Illinois and Minnesota, accuses them of monopolizing the repair market of their farm equipment. O'connor reports the FTC's allegations: that the practice increases repair costs, and causes significant delays for the farmers who rely on the equipment @john-deere-sued. They also claim that Deere refuses to share the software diagnostics needed to repair their farming equipment, making it impossible for an individual to repair their equipment. O'Connor then presents a quote from Lina M. Khan, an FTC chairperson, stating "[farmers should be] free to repair their own equipment or use repair shops of their choice -- lowering costs, preventing ruinous delays, and promoting fair competition." Deere denies all of the allegations, and claims to support customer repair @john-deere-sued.
+
+== Other Activism
+
+The pushback hasn't just been limited to the courts. Advocates like the previously mentioned Louis Rossmann have spent years documenting the consequences of anti-repair design. Rossmann's activism ranges from regular posts on his YouTube channel exposing specific cases of anti-consumer practices to organized protests in states where pivotal decisions are being made. He also runs a forum--Consumer Rights Wiki--where the public can document their own cases of consumer rights violations @ConsumerRightsWiki. Meanwhile organizations such as Repair.org and the FULU foundation, have been central to converting public frustration into political movement. Repair.org has been empowering consumers with tracking of current bills and templates for news legislation @repair-org, while the FULU foundation sets bounties for finding ways around anti-repair practices. Currently, over \$10,000 have been raised to award to anyone able to bypass "RFID filter authentication" in a variety of GE refrigeration units @FULU2025_GEFilterDRM. If RTR is going to move from state and local legislation to concrete national policy, it will require sustained political pressure. Contact your representative today and tell them you are in support of strong right-to-repair legislation.

drafting/sources.bib

@@ -257,3 +257,37 @@
       primaryClass={cs.CR},
       url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.05824}, 
 }
+
+@article{Bedayn2023_ColoradoRightToRepair,
+  author       = {Jesse Bedayn},
+  title        = {Colorado becomes 1st to pass ‘right to repair’ for farmers},
+  journal      = {AP News},
+  year         = {2023},
+  month        = {Apr},
+  day          = {25},
+  url          = {https://apnews.com/article/colorado-right-to-repair-farming-equipment-1da00ea957fd1057bf522cb4725e62d4},
+  note         = {Accessed 16 Oct. 2025}
+}
+
+@misc{ConsumerRightsWiki,
+  title        = {Consumer Rights Wiki – Exposing the overlooked exploitation of modern consumers},
+  howpublished = {\url{https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Main_Page}},
+  note         = {Accessed: 2025-11-14},
+  year         = {2025}
+}
+
+@misc{FULUFoundation2025,
+  title        = {FULU Foundation — Fighting for Digital Ownership Rights},
+  author       = {{FULU Foundation}},
+  year         = {2025},
+  howpublished = {\url{https://fulu.org/}},
+  note         = {Accessed: 2025-11-14}
+}
+
+@misc{FULU2025_GEFilterDRM,
+  author       = {FULU Foundation},
+  title        = {GE Refrigerator Water Filter Replacement — Bounty},
+  howpublished = {\url{https://bounties.fulu.org/bounties/ge-refrigerator-water-filter-replacement}},
+  year         = {2025},
+  note         = {Accessed: 2025-11-14}
+}